With less than two months before stepping down as the state’s chief executive officer, Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed 100 people to state boards and commissions, leaving a lasting fingerprint on the makeup of many of the state’s occupational governing bodies and policy advisory committees.
Bredesen, a Democrat, will be termed out of office on Jan. 15, 2011. He will be replaced by Republican Bill Haslam, who is just finishing up his second term as mayor of Knoxville.
One of a governor’s duties is to appoint individuals to more than 150 state boards and commissions, ranging from the Board of Athletic Directors and the Drycleaner Environmental Response Board to the Homeland Security Council and the state Ethics Commission.
“Gov. Bredesen has always taken these appointments very seriously and filling vacancies enables boards and commissions to continue their work and service to (the) state,” said a spokeswoman.
Bredesen’s appointments are sending people to sit on 34 different boards and commissions, many of which have not met for several months, according to a TNReport review of the state’s online calendar.
Haslam isn’t particularly bothered that board and commission slots were filled before he had a chance to make appointments himself. “There’s only one governor at a time,” said David Smith, a spokesman for the governor-elect. Bredesen is just doing his job, he added.
It’s too early to tell whether Bredesen’s new appointees — whose opinions and priorities may differ from those of the new administration — will in any way hamper or cause problems for the new administration, says former state Rep. Susan Lynn, who chaired the Government Operations Committee that reviewed occupational and professional board renewal requests. Lynn has herself been mentioned as a prospect to join the new administration in some capacity.
“It’s just hard to say,” she said. “It’s an enormous job to find people who are qualified to serve on these boards.”
“These positions come open all the time,” she added.
Appointment terms vary based on statutory recommendations or term limits specified by geographic or other qualifications. The governor’s appointments are as follows:
Barber Board of Examiners
Ralph S. Payne, Springville
Board for Licensing Alarm Systems Contractors
Karen Denise Jones, Limestone
McKenzie C. “Ken” Roberts, McMinnville
Board for Licensing Contractors
Cindi Gresham DeBusk, Knoxville
William E. Mason, Greenbrier
Board of Athletic Trainers
Monroe J. Abram, Antioch
Joseph T. Erdeljac, Cookeville
Walter S. Fitzpatrick, III, Cookeville
Cliff E. Pawley, Humboldt
Kurt P. Spindler, Franklin
Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers
W.T. Patterson, Camden
Commission on Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education
Mark J. Finucane, Johnson City
Drycleaner Environmental Response Board
Cullen Earnest, Nashville
Education Commission of the States
Bruce Opie, Nashville
Patrick Smith, Ashland City
Energy Efficient Schools Council
Carolyn P. Bowers, Clarksville
Goodwyn Institute
Suki Carson, Memphis
Governor’s Advisory Committee on Equal and Fair Employment Opportunity
Jacky Akbari, Franklin
Governor’s Citizens Corps Advisory Committee
Faye G. Morse, Liberty
Michael F. Nesbitt, Carthage
Joseph C. “Joe” Palmer, Cottontown
Homeland Security Council
William L. “Bill” Brown, Greeneville
Keep Tennessee Beautiful Advisory Council
Virginia “Happy” Birdsong, Madison
Marjorie J. “Marge” Davis, Mount Juliet
Sandra S. Ennis, Tullahoma
Jack O. Horner, Talbott
Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board
Steven E. “Steve” Elkins, Nashville
Polysomnography Professional Standards Committee
Bryan P. Hughes, Woodbury
Roxanne M. Valentino, Hendersonville
State Textbook Commission
Lois E. Coles, Brentwood
Robert W. Greene, Decatur
Donald Lanier Hopper, Middleton
Brian K. Tate, Church Hill
Robert M. Stidham, Church Hill
Edith G. Williams, Stanton
Statewide Independent Living Council
Robert L. Leonard, McKenzie
Anthony D. Sledge, Memphis
Tennessee Community Services Agency Board of Directors
Joe D. Barlow, Gainesboro
Lisa R. Bell, Camden
Peggy Collins, Lewisburg
Terry E. Crutcher, Dover
Pamela W. Edgemon, Cleveland
Kathleen J. Garrison, Spring City
Billy Joe Glover, Selmer
Pamela J. Harris, Jonesborough
John A. Hewgley, South Pittsburg
Regina L. Mason, Livingston
John R. Prince, Trenton
Ronald W. Shirey, Jr., Lynnville
Peggy K. Smotherman, Clifton
Martha Beaty Wiley, Allardt
Linda F. Williams, Fayetteville
Tennessee Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision
Stephen G. Young, Nashville
Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities
Norris L. Branick, Jackson
Tina Ann Burcham, Counce
Alexander N. Santana, Antioch
Steven Z. Sheegog, Memphis
Joyce Elaine Sievers, Smithville
Tennessee Duck River Development Agency
William Lee Brown, Manchester
Eslick E. Daniel, Williamsport
Robert S. Finney, Shelbyville
Olen Lee Morrison, Lewisburg
Paul Myatt, Bon Aqua
Thomas H. Peebles, Nashville
Betty Superstein, Manchester
Barbara A. Woods, Lewisburg
Tennessee Ethics Commission
Frank E. Barnett, Knoxville
Tennessee Higher Education Commission
Jon M. Kinsey, Chattanooga
Tennessee Historical Commission
John Charles Trotter, Knoxville
Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board
Jami C. Awalt, Nashville
Rebecca Conard, Murfreesboro
Jackie L. Glenn, Maryville
Jill Kay Hastings-Johnson, Clarksville
Mary McCoy Helms, Chattanooga
Wayne C. Moore, Madison
Richard L. Saunders, Martin
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
Mary Chatman, Springfield
Tennessee Medical Laboratory Board
Kathleen M. Kenwright, Cordova
Jerry L. Miller, Kingsport
Thomas F. O’Brien, Jr., Munford
Tennessee Private Investigation & Polygraph Commission
Walter Valentine, Brentwood
Tennessee Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Advisory Council
David Sevier, Murfreesboro
Belinda G. Watkins, Collierville
Tennessee Suicide Prevention Advisory Council
Nancy L. Badger, Chattanooga
Kathy A. Benedetto, Johnson City
Roberta “Renee” Brown, Memphis
Anna Lynn Shugart, Maryville
Jacqueline Anne Stamps, Algood
Shelia R. Ward, Jackson
Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Council
Linda W. Copas, Nashville
Avis Easley, Antioch
Frank R. Meeuwis, Madison
Kathy Rouse, Morristown
Utility Management Review Board
Charlie C. Anderson, Kingsport
Volunteer Tennessee Commission
Laurel Leigh Creech, Nashville
Jonathan P. Farmer, Nashville
Carol L. Gaudino, Memphis
Julie C. Hembree, Knoxville
Emily Ann Jones, Knoxville
James H. Kilgore, Jr., Greeneville